Meffa's First Online Journal: 8-Ball Kush, Vanilla Kush, Aurora Indica & Peyote Gorilla

[meffa]

Some of the spotting is bug damage ... and definitely something large is crawling around in there and eating lots of leaf matter. Some of the other spotting looks to be the beginnings of a magnesium deficiency, I think... I would wait on treating that until you get that bug found, drawn and quartered and its head put on a pike to warn any future pests that might happen by, not to mess with the likes of you.

Dang! Well, hopefully the BT I sprayed last night helped out. I'm planning to move them into their final pot in the next day or so and will give each a very close inspection.

I'm not sure if there's much more to do than continue using BT and keep a lookout for further damage.

 

[meffa]

It's Friday night and I am pooped! I up-potted these girls from their 3gl fabric pots to 7gl fabric pots and I am happy that's over with. Everything's harder when you're indoors and working within the confines of a space that's occupied by life's accumulations. I couldn't imagine going into a bigger pot than these, they are heavy!. I don't know how anyone handles the 15gl pots I read about.

I gave them all a drink and I sprayed them with clear water to try and rinse off the residual BT and any soil that may have gotten on them during the transplanting. I didn't notice any eggs or other signs of life beside the chunks that were there prior to hitting them with BT (I think). They'll be moving into the larger tent in a day or two and I'll be able to keep closer tabs on them and more easily document any changes. Hopefully the only changes are green growth. Hey I can dream right?

I had to take off the tie-downs and need to put those back asap. The weight of the larger pots is giving my lazy susan turntable a run for her money but it's working and I'm glad I have it in there. They'll be stationary when they hit the larger tent.

 

[meffa]

It's Monday Feb 15th and I just moved these girls into the larger 4'x8'. I traded out the barley straw for fir bark and need to get more for the last plant. I need to figure out how to best know when water is needed as I can't pick these suckers up to feel the weight. Originally I had planned to flip to 12/12 on Feb 25th but I'm a little ahead of schedule and plan to flip this coming weekend. I need to keep the clones in veg until I bring them to my friends house, and I don't want to run the tent they just came out of just for these.

I decided to bookend my 600W BD LED with the two 315CMH's I have.

 

[meffa]

It's Thursday Feb 18th and it's been 75 days since these ladies first appeared. I watered Monday after moving them over to the larger tent, and the leaves are taco shaped. The lighting is definitely more intense and I had the lights a bit closer than they were in the smaller tent, so I moved them up a bit to see if that helps. I'm reading it could be light, heat, or a Magnesium issue. There are a couple of rust spots here and there but very small and not a lot at all. Still, I did lay down some Roots Elemental about two weeks ago and that does take time to break down. I bought a bottle of General Organics CaMg+ and will consider adding that the next time I water if things don't improve. I also have tower fans in the four corners and just lowered those to the lowest setting in case they're drying out and that's part of the problem.

Temps are steady at 80F and R/H is around 40%. I added a bowl of steaming water to the tent to see if a little more moisture in the tent helps. If they're looking for higher R/H I'll add a humidifier. I'm in the NorthEast and it's pretty dry here right now.

I haven't noticed any more bug munching on the leaves since I hit them with BT about 10days ago. I've been using SNS209, Gnatrol, and mulch, all of which have knocked down the gnats to the point where I'm not seeing much of anything the last few days.

I want to flip these ladies to 12/12 this weekend but want to make sure they're healthy enough. At this point I'm resisting the urge to change too many things at once.

 

[meffa]

Today is 77 days since these girls hit dirt and today they are going to embark on the next phase of their journey. That's right, today is flip to 12/12 day! I thought I'd post some pics of their last official day in veg. I watered six days ago and plan to water tomorrow.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Vanilla Kush ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^8-Ball Kush^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Emilya Green]

 

[meffa]

I watered today and was able to learn a bit from it. I watered last week after they were moved to their final 7gl pots and they took 5-6 gallons total between the five plants. 7 days later they took 10gl with minimal runoff. Last weeks watering was half as much due to the soil being moist from the transplanting and they've really grown a bit in one week. They seem to be drinking it in now that things have settled down with topping and up-potting all in the rear view mirror.

I spent about 4hrs watering a quart or less as I went from plant to plant and took many breaks in between. Thinking about what I learned it's that low (pressure) and slow is the way to go. I'm using a 2gl pump sprayer and have marks on the sides at each quart so I know how much I'm putting in at any time. I can use the 7 days it took between full watering's knowing they took 10gl between them and use that as my first baseline. I was able to lift them prior to watering and compared to 2gl later they should be about 16lbs heavier (1gl weighs 8lbs), so it's not so difficult figuring out when they've dried out enough having kept track of usage over time. I also like that with this style of growing you shouldn't let them dry out quite as much and I'm guessing they'll be ready to be watered again in 5-6 days and will consume the same amount a day or two earlier, but if I'm off a bit that's ok.

The gnats are still hanging on but I've been staying the course with using SNS and Gnatrol as a soil drench, and good old mechanical smashing when I see movement. I've gotten good finding them hiding in the cracks and crevices between the pots and the trays, so I spray some SNS203 in there to get them moving and then it's game on! I like that they start climbing up the fabric pots and are easy pickings from there. SNS209 soil drench says it takes 1-2 weeks to start working. I just read that I might have been going too light on the Gnatrol so I'll adjust that next time I water.

I bought a bottle of General Organics Ca/Mg+ that was recommended in the TLO book I'm reading and added that at the lowest recommended rate. I've been making trips to the water dispensary and getting R/O water so I feel comfortable adding that.

Temps have been 80-82 but humidity has been sub 40's so I added a swamp cooler. My neighbor gave me a gift card for clearing his snow this winter so I used it on that. It's dropped the temp a couple of points and raised the humidity into the 60's now. I only expect to need this for a short period now that they're in flower, but I felt they needed higher humidity and this seems to be working out. I have it set to shutoff when the lights go out though it doesn't resume when the power comes back on, but that's ok it'll force me to stay on top of it which isn't a bad thing.

 

[meffa]

It's Thursday Feb 25. I sprayed Monterey B.T. today as I think there's a caterpillar or something besides fungus gnats in there. I put a yellow sticky trap on the floor for the fungus gnats and I'm seeing very tiny black stuff almost like black dust that must be poop from the offender. I also saw it on the base of the tower fans I have in the corners. It's not the typical round droppings that I'm familiar with, but I don't want to mess around. I don't see any leaf damage and can't even locate the prior damage as everything's gotten pretty bushy.

Other than that I'm thinking of changing my name to the gnat-hunter! I've been fighting them every chance I get

 

[meffa]

Today is Friday Feb 26th and it's been 5 days since watering, so today the girls got a drink. They took about 9gl between them, which is close to the 10gl they took after 7 days. With a couple of watering's under my belt I'm feeling pretty good about what to expect every 5 days or so. Last night and today I removed all lower growth that wasn't going to amount to anything and they're a lot more open as well. They earned their drink!

 

[meffa]

One day after watering and my girls are praying! I love seeing this. I don't think any plants out of my last grow were ever this happy. So far so good with this fully organic grow, well besides the fungus gnats! I'm going to think about baking my soil moving forward to kill any larvae. I have a big gas grill that I can utilize, just need to buy some tins to heat it up in.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^8-Ball Kush under 315CMH^^^^^^^^^^Different characteristics than the 8-Ball Below

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 8-Ball Kush under LED^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Vanilla Kush under 315CMH ^^^^^^ I'm loving this plant and have a feeling she's going to produce some good stuff!

 

[Emilya Green]

Wow! Look at them go! You are doing great!

 

[meffa]

Thank you, Emilya! I can't believe I'm this far along with what I feel are minimal issues.

 

[meffa]

Today is Thursday March 4th and it's been about 12 days since the flip to 12/12. I watered yesterday with Gnatrol, SNS209, Ca/Mg, Silica, and Big Bloom. I'm still picking up R/O water at the dispensary and they've been going 5 days between watering. They've been drinking about 9-10 gallons at each interval. I'm still battling the fungus gnats and will be baking my soil from this point forward. I've spent more time and money fighting these buggers!

I have (2) 315CMH's on the ends and a 600W BD LED in the middle. I dropped the CMH's down from 20" to about 15". I was reading up on typical hanging heights for these and 15" came up a bit and combined with the back of the hand heat test seemed to be a good height. I raised the LED in the middle up to 24" from 20" for better spread. I have a few inches available if I need to go higher but I think the stretch may be close to over.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^------------8-Ball Kush----------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^----------------My All Girl Rock Band!----------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^-----------Aurora Indica----------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^--------------------Vanilla Kush-------------------^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[meffa]

It's Monday March 8th and it's also watering day, so that's what I did! I'm continuing to use Gnatrol, SNS209, Silica, Ca/Mg. I think I'm making good headway with the fungus gnats. I bought a gallon of SNS203 and have been saturating the surface of the soil several times per day to kill those suckers.

Other than that I think we're just waiting for things to thicken up. We're about 16 days since the flip to 12/12 and as a newbie I'm wanting to help things along as much as I can, but I don't think there's much to do except keep a close eye on things. I broke out the longer lens and took some close ups.

 

[meffa]

Today is March 14th and we are 3 weeks since the flip to 12/12. Not a whole lot to report other than to say these ladies are doing fantastic! I watered yesterday and have been on a 5 day cycle where they're good for 9-10 gallons between them. I've been moving them around a little bit within the tent, trying to give them all chance to enjoy both the LED and 315CMH's. They seem to be happy no matter where they are. I have 3 more 200W LED's and I thought about adding 2 to the tent but I think it'd get too hot. Temps are already creeping up with the few nice days we've had. In my first grow I used (2) 200W LED's and (2) 315CMH's and that worked out great. This time around I nixed the (2) 200W LED's and put in a single 600W LED in the middle, so a couple hundred more watts this time around and better coverage with the single 600.

I think I screwed up a bit on my last grow and all the way to flower on this grow with using the GeoFlora nutes. It says 8 ounces every two weeks and I was using 4, so with the last watering I top dressed a few days earlier than I would normally and with this watering I gave them some Terp Tea Bloom. I wanted to give them a treat and the Terp Tea has beneficial bacteria and Mycorrhizal.

 

[meffa]

Today is Thursday March 18th and I am calling victory over the fungus gnats! I watered today and think I saw maybe 3-5 gnats total. I added SNS203 and Ca/Mg to the water today. The stalks are starting to stack a bit, especially on the Aurora Indica. I couldn't help myself and took a lot of pics today.

It's starting to warm up outside which is trickling over to my tent, so I installed a second exhaust fan. I repurposed the intake for 4x4 that wasn't being used. This is helping a bit and I'm hoping to not have to turn on the portable ac, mostly because I have to setup the vent through my basement window and it's a pain. The $ to run it is something I'd rather not have to tack on as well.

In any event, I'm over the top with how easy this grow has been compared to the others. I just can't get over how healthy the plants seem compared to previous grows. I'm hoping I'll get some good yield with the 7gl fabric pots. I think the biggest pots I was in previous were 3-4gl.

 

[meffa]

Time is flying and my ladies are starting to do their thing. The colas on Vanilla Kush are really starting to thicken up and she's glistening. Peyote Gorilla looks like she's been sprinkled with powdered sugar she's so frosty but not as thick as I'd like, I'm hoping she comes along. I have two different phenos with 8-Ball Kush and I'm glad for that. My last grow had and 8-Ball and I loved the way it grew but it wasn't very frosty, but the other one is really frosting up. Aurora Indica is really stacking and her colas are more rounded. I grew Aurora, 8-Ball, and Peyote Gorilla in my last grow and this time around they're leaps and bounds ahead in terms of growth and overall health.

I watered today with Ca/Mg and SNS203 which will probably be the last time using the SNS. The gnats are next to nothing and the yellow stickies can handle them. The plants have been through an SNS209 treatment and gnatrol was applied several times in a row. I also added silica and some coconut water to today's watering. They took the usual 9 gallons between them. A little bit of nute burn is showing at some tips, not sure if there's anything to do about it at this point. A little fire at the tips never hurt anyone!

^^^^^^^^^^Peyote Gorilla on the left, Aurora Indica on the right ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^8-Ball Kush^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Aurora Indica ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Vanilla Kush - She's my fav of the bunch ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[meffa]

Today is Sunday March 28th and it's been 5 weeks since the flip to 12/12, and it's been 5 days since they were watered so today they all got a drink! I'm noticing some brown/rust spots here and there on a couple of the plants but not all. I've been adding Ca/Mg at each watering on the low side of what was directed, but I'm wondering if I'm locked out? The brown spotting isn't bad at all, just a couple of spots here and there so today I didn't add any Ca/Mg but added fulvic Acid and liquid kelp towards the end and on the low side.

 

[VetSmoke85]

They're looking great. Wonderful to see.

 

[meffa]

They're looking great. Wonderful to see.

Thanks Vet!